Aerosol spray is a type of dispensing system which creates an aerosol mist of liquid particles. This is used with a can or bottle that contains a liquid under pressure. When the container's valve is opened, the liquid is forced out of a small hole and emerges as an aerosol or mist. As gas expands to drive out the payload, only some propellant evaporates inside the can to maintain an even pressure. Outside the can, the droplets of propellant evaporate rapidly, leaving the payload suspended as very fine particles or droplets.
Typical liquids dispensed in this way are insecticides, deodorants, paints etc. An atomizer is a similar device that is pressurized by a hand-operated pump rather than by stored gas.
Modern aerosol spray products have three major parts: the can, the valve and the actuator or button. The can is most commonly made of steel or aluminum and may be made of two or three pieces of metal combined together. The valve is crimped to the rig of the can and design of the same determines the spray rate. The actuator is depressed by the user to open the valve; a spring closes the valve again when it is released. The shape and size of the nozzle in the actuator controls the spread of the aerosol spray. In other words, one of the most common type of aerosol containers includes a shell made of steel or aluminum, a valve, a “dip tube” which extends from the valve to the liquid product, and a propellant (a liquefied gas) under pressure. The liquid product is generally mixed with the propellant. When the valve is opened, this solution moves up the dip tube and out the valve. The propellant vaporizes as it is released into the atmosphere, dispersing the product in the form of fine particles.
Further, there are mainly two types of aerosol can i.e. one single component aerosol can and two component aerosol can
U.S. Pat. No. 7,204,392 discloses one of the advanced aerosol can which comprises of a body blank, a dome to accommodate a valve, an inwardly arched bottom, inner sleeve arranged at a disk, a tappet arranged at the inner sleeve to split-off the inner sleeve and the tappet being able to be actuated through the disk. The inner sleeve is connected via a spring cage with the disk, the spring cage having a spring-mounted release mechanism acting on the tappet. The tappet acting against a cover arranged at the can-side end of the inner sleeve and splitting it off when actuated, with a diaphragm being arranged between the tappet and the release mechanism. The diaphragm seals the inner sleeve at its bottom disk-side end hermetically against the contents of the pressure pack aerosol can. The purpose of this document is to provide absolutely tight unit formed by its inner sleeve against the contents of the pressure pack aerosol can.
Another improved pressurized dispenser for two-component aerosol systems is described in EP2013115B1. The disclosed system comprises of a cylindrical skirt, a valve disposed in a mandrel, a base and an inner sleeve arranged on the base, wherein the inner sleeve is provided with a cylindrical sleeve wall, a closure, a base element and a plunger, which is moveably disposed in the inner sleeve and whose end projects through the base element, and the base element has a guide for the plunger and a retaining portion, which extends through the base of the pressurized dispenser and is fixed to it, wherein the plunger cooperates with an actuation element arranged outside the pressurized container. The inner sleeve has at least one resilient zone for pressure balance between the interior of the dispenser and the sleeve space in the form of a heat sealing film, which has a material reserve in the form of a fold of material or a bulge which permits the heat sealing film to deflect inwardly into the interior of the inner sleeve under the influence of pressure from the exterior. The objective of the disclosed pressurized dispenser is to enable mounting of various parts on the inner sleeve easily and achieve reliable separation of the closure of the inner sleeve.
The single component aerosol can has not been discussed here for sake of brevity.
The aforesaid two-component aerosol cans and the existing single component aerosol cans consist of number of limitations and disadvantages. The traditional single component aerosol cans are not able to mix hardener and resin in a pressurized can and hence have limited performance. Further, the traditional way of using spray gun system or air compressor to mix 2 packs/2 parts/2 components of chemicals is tedious and difficult. In the existing two components aerosol cans the user is required to reverse the aerosol can upside down and press the mandrel at the bottom valve to break through or rupture the membrane of inner sleeve inside the can. Also, it is difficult for the user to determine whether the inner sleeve inside the can is ruptured upon pressing the bottom end and chemical contained within the can is discharged out properly or not. Due to this limitation, the user cannot be sure of obtaining the final result as a two-component product, of which one of the chemical inside the inner sleeve is not discharged properly to mix with other chemical in the can body. Further, the existing products requires direct filling into two different valves on dome and cone respectively.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the prior art to have an improved aerosol can which overcomes the aforesaid problems and shortcomings.
However, there remains a need in the art for an improved aerosol can which provides convenient method for mixing two-component chemicals and discharging the mixture with a one-hole aerosol can. Further, upon discharging of liquid, it simply indicates that the two chemicals inside the inner sleeve and the can body are mixed. Also, the improved aerosol can enables mixing of two packs or two parts or two components of chemicals inside a pressurized can.